Kansai University European Center

The 15^th Kansai University EU Workshop, organized by Kansai University’s Graduate School of Letters, was welcomed this year by the KU Leuven (University of Leuven). Hosted by the Japanese Studies Department of the Faculty of Arts, KU Leuven, on Monday November 4, it provided the opportunity to five students to present their research to an international audience. This initiative is one of the activities of the “Kansai University Program for EU-Japanology Education and Research (PEJER),” a program with the goal of providing graduate students with the opportunity to gain and participate in the exchange of international, diverse perspectives.

During this year’s edition, three students of Kansai University, and two students of the KU Leuven took the stage to elaborate on their research to a varied audience. Graduate student Yuka KOGISO, the first presenter from Kansai University, began the workshop with her presentation on “Gender Division of Labour in Yayoi Pottery Production”.

Arend BUCHER, PhD student of the Japanese Studies Department, was the second presenter, discussing “War Prints of the Sino- and Russo-Japanese War and Its Iconology”. Lastly, Kansai University graduate student Satomi ISOBE enlightened the audience with her presentation on “Queens of Ancient Egypt – Perspectives on Image and Reality in Japan –”, and as such closed the morning session.

After the lunch break, the workshop continued with Japanese Studies PhD student Brecht SCHERENS and his presentation titled “Shaping the Hidden Practices of the zemi (seminar): A Historical Institutionalist Approach to the History of Seminar Education in Japanese Higher Education during the 1960s-1980s”. He was followed by graduate student Tomoka HASHIMOTO, who gave the last presentation of the day on “Mari Mori's unique European Perspective: The Aesthetic Influence on Her Novels”.

The workshop was guided by Professors Shoichi HIRAI and Oki MATSUMOTO from Kansai University, and Professor Jan SCHMIDT from the KU Leuven. They provided the participants and audience with many valuable comments and feedback, and made sure the workshop proceeded smoothly thanks to their monitoring.

After each presentation, there was time included for the audience to ask questions, which provided many opportunities for discussions on the different topics related to history and literature. Due to the different educational backgrounds of the participants and audience, many interesting questions were raised, which contributed to the academic and intercultural exchange of this workshop.

Once the workshop was closed, the participants from both universities, together with the varied audience, took time to meet each other and discuss some more. This edition of the Kansai University EU Workshop therefore once more proved to be an excellent occasion to contribute to international exchange, for the sake of scholarship as well as global collaboration. After yet another successful workshop, we are looking forward to the future editions of this initiative.